Brookhaven senior housing clears major hurdle to expansion

Following a lengthy debate, Town Meeting approved a measure paving the way for a major expansion at the Brookhaven assisted living facility on Waltham Street.

Article 44 passed 126-37, with five abstentions, at the annual Town Meeting's April 24 session.

The article rezoned a parcel adjacent to Brookhaven's current campus, which is owned by Brookhaven, from a classification restricting the land to single-family homes to a "Planned Development" classification, allowing Brookhaven's expansion go ahead.

Plan will add 49 units

In 2012, Brookhaven purchased adjoining parcels at 960 and 990 Waltham Street, totaling a little more than six acres. The two parcels were zoned as an RO Residential District for one-family dwellings, and the parcels needed to be rezoned to a Planned Development District for the expansion to proceed. The parcels were originally slated for a 14-home subdivision before Brookhaven bought the land.

The plans call for an expansion and reconfiguration of Brookhaven’s units. Forty-nine units for seniors who don’t need much day-to-day help will be built. Thirty additional assisted living units will also be built. Thirty-seven nursing units will be converted to different units to help make room for the 89 new units. The remaining 42 new independent and assisted living units will be built as part of the expansion.

Brookhaven attorney Bill Dailey said the expansion was necessitated by the changing demands of Brookhaven's customers.

"There is a tremendous need for senior housing. At this time there is a waitlist of approximately 280 people wanting to get into Brookhaven," he said.

While the passage of Article 44 lays the groundwork for the expansion, the Planning Board still needs to conduct a site plan review, according to Planning Director Aaron Henry. That will likely happen later this year, he said, after Brookhaven officials secure environmental permits.

Affordable housing concerns resolved

As part of the rezoning, Selectmen negotiated a memorandum of agreement with Brookhaven requiring the senior living center to pay $2.1 million over 15 years to a special fund the town can use to build between five and six units of affordable housing elsewhere in Lexington.

As Brookhaven's expansion will add 49 units, selectmen were concerned it would negate the town’s ability to fend off Chapter 40B affordable housing developments. Under state law, if less than 10 percent of a town’s housing stock is set aside as affordable, developers can propose projects that circumvent most local zoning provided at least 25 percent of the project’s housing units are set aside as affordable. Eleven percent of Lexington's housing stock is now classed as affordable; an additional five and a half units would offset the 49-unit increase of non-affordable units included in the Brookhaven expansion.

The agreement also increased the amount of money Brookhaven pays as part of a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes program, or PILOT. Brookhaven currently pays the town just under $500,000 each year, according to Valente. That amount increases by 3 percent every year. Under the new agreement, that would increase by 13.6 percent--7 percent in the year that the new units at Brookhaven open in fiscal year 2020, and 6.6 percent in the 12th year after that. In addition, the PILOT payments would also continue to increase at 2.5 percent for 15 years from fiscal year 2018, after which point it would begin to increase by 3 percent each year.

As a nonprofit, Brookhaven does not pay property taxes to the town. Under the previous PILOT agreement, Brookhaven would have paid Lexington $10.1 million over the next 15 years. Under the new agreement, Brookhaven will pay slightly less than $10.5 million over the same period.

Members question agreement

While the rezoning measure passed Town Meeting with significantly more support than the required two-thirds majority, several Town Meeting members were vocal about their opposition.

Precinct 7 Town Meeting member David Kanter called the deal "fiscally irresponsible," saying he doubted $2.1 million could cover the cost of building new affordable housing given high construction and land prices in Lexington.

"I think the payment of $2.1 million over 15 years is not enough to cover the creation of 5.5 units of housing. We're using today's dollars," said Appropriations Committee member Lilly Yan. "Housing prices, in my estimation, will go up."

Town Manager Carl Valente told Town Meeting members the figure was based off of construction costs LexHAB has seen in triplexes the group is building at Busa Farm. It will cost LexHAB $1.5 million to acquire the land and build 5.5 units, he said.